You are here

Group submits proposal for 2016 ballot to repeal gay marriage ban

Arkansas News Bureau

LITTLE ROCK — A second gay rights group submitted wording to the state attorney general Tuesday for a proposed ballot measure that would repeal Amendment 83, which defines marriage as only between one man and one woman and bans gay marriage and civil unions.

The Arkansas Initiative for Marriage Equality asked Attorney General Dustin McDaniel to certify a proposed constitutional amendment for the 2016 ballot that would legalize same-sex marriage in the state.

Under the proposal, the “right to marry in Arkansas would not be abridged or denied on account of sex or sexual orientation.” The proposal would not require churches or religious organizations to perform same-sex marriages.

Last month, Arkansans for Equality, a gay rights group, submitted wording to the attorney general for a proposed ballot measure in 2014 that would repeal Amendment 83 but would not legalize same-sex marriage in the state.

Last week, a same-sex Arkansas couple married in Idaho filed a lawsuit in Pulaski County Circuit Court challenging the gay marriage ban.

The lawsuit by White County residents Kendall and Julia Wright, argues that the 2004 constitutional amendment, which received 75 percent of the popular vote, violates their constitutional rights.